Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:
- That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
- We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
- On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.
By learning about Williams (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.
As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Williams. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Williams is located in Mathews County.
To see how the shape of Virginia's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Mathews County: Gloucester & Middlesex.
Below are the counties that are near Williams. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Williams:
- Mathews County (The home county of Williams)
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Beaverlett
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Beaverlett is located in Mathews County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaverlett
- Ruff
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Ruff is located in Mathews County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruff
- Onemo
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Onemo is located in Mathews County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onemo
- Mathews
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Cardinal
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cardinal is located in Mathews County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardinal
- Susan
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Susan is located in Mathews County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Susan
- Peary
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Peary is located in Mathews County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peary
- Diggs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- New Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Accomack County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Belle Haven
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Savage Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Savage Town is located in Accomack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savage Town
- Gloucester County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- North
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Rowes Haven
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rowes Haven is located in Gloucester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowes Haven
- Achilles
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Achilles is located in Gloucester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Achilles
- Gloucester Courthouse
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Gloucester Courthouse is located in Gloucester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gloucester Courthouse
- Money
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Money is located in Gloucester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Money
- Roanes
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Roanes is located in Gloucester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roanes
- Ordinary
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- White Marsh
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Crab
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Crab is located in Gloucester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab
- Freeport
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Freeport is located in Gloucester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
- Country Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Country Village is located in Gloucester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
- Ark
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Ark is located in Gloucester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ark
- Hampton City
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Newgate Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Newgate Village is located in Hampton City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newgate Village
- Buckroe Beach
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Buckroe Beach is located in Hampton City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckroe Beach
- Aberdeen Gardens
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Aberdeen Gardens is located in Hampton City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aberdeen Gardens
- Chapel Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Chapel Village is located in Hampton City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel Village
- Hampton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Phoebus
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Phoebus is located in Hampton City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phoebus
- Pine Chapel Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Pine Chapel Village is located in Hampton City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Chapel Village
- Greenwood Farms
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Greenwood Farms is located in Hampton City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood Farms
- Isle of Wight County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Rescue
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rescue is located in Isle of Wight County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rescue
- Rushmere
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rushmere is located in Isle of Wight County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushmere
- James City County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Norge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Jamestown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- King and Queen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Plain View
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Plain View is located in King and Queen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plain View
- Mattaponi
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- King William County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- West Point
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Romancoke
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Romancoke is located in King William County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romancoke
- Lancaster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Westland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Westland is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westland
- Ocran
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Ocran is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocran
- White Stone
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Irvington
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Weems
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Weems is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weems
- Millenbeck
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Millenbeck is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millenbeck
- Kilmarnock
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Ottoman
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Ottoman is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottoman
- Merry Point
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Merry Point is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merry Point
- Richtown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Richtown is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richtown
- Lankford Corner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Lankford Corner is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lankford Corner
- Griffins Landing
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Griffins Landing is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffins Landing
- Middlesex County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Amburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Amburg is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amburg
- Sandy Bottom ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Sandy Bottom is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Bottom
- Stingray Point
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Stingray Point is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stingray Point
- Wilton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wilton is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
- Hartfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Grafton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Grafton is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grafton
- Harmony Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Harmony Village is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony Village
- Locust Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saluda
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Urbanna
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Remlik
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Nesting
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Nesting is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nesting
- New Kent County
- Plum Point
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Plum Point is located in New Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Point
- Newport News City
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Lee Hall
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lee Hall is located in Newport News City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Hall
- Red Hill Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Red Hill Village is located in Newport News City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill Village
- Bernard Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bernard Village is located in Newport News City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bernard Village
- Newport News
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Hilton Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Hilton Village is located in Newport News City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
- Northampton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Cherrystone
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Cherrystone is located in Northampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherrystone
- Cape Charles
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cheriton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Eastville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Pat Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Pat Town is located in Northampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pat Town
- Bayview
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bayview is located in Northampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayview
- Bridgetown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Bridgetown is located in Northampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgetown
- Jamesville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Jamesville is located in Northampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesville
- Machipongo
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Cove Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Cove Village is located in Northampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Cove Village
- Cheapside
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Cheapside is located in Northampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheapside
- Birdsnest
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Northumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Lynhams
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Lynhams is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynhams
- Fleeton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Fleeton is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleeton
- Remo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Remo is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Remo
- Reedville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Poquoson City
- Poquoson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Surry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Homewood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Homewood is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homewood
- Scotland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Scotland is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
- Williamsburg City
- Williamsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- York County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Yorktown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lackey
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lackey is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lackey
- Dare
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Dare is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dare
- Yorkville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Yorkville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkville
- Rochambeau Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Rochambeau Village is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochambeau Village
- Charles Corner
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Charles Corner is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charles Corner
- Barlows Corner
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Barlows Corner is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlows Corner
- Oaktree
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Oaktree is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaktree
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Williams, see our County-by-County Page for Williams.
Cemeteries Near Williams ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Williams.
This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Williams - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Williams covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Christ Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Williams Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Poplar Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Mickelborough Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Ruff Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- White Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Perkins Springs Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Antioch Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Friendship Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Foster Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hamburg School Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (158 more) ...
- Stuart Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Knight Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Hudgins Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<3>
While we didn't find Williams in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Williams.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Williams, with the one closest to Williams listed first.
- Port Haywood
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Bohannon
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Bohannon is located in Mathews County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bohannon
- Laban
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Laban is located in Mathews County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laban
- New Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Diggs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fitchetts
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fitchetts is located in Mathews County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitchetts
- Hudgins
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Hudgins is located in Mathews County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudgins
- Cricket Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Cricket Hill is located in Mathews County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cricket Hill
- Blakes
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Blakes is located in Mathews County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blakes
- Ware Neck
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Ware Neck is located in Gloucester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware Neck
- Severn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Severn is located in Gloucester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Severn
- Cobbs Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Roanes
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Roanes is located in Gloucester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roanes
- Achilles
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Achilles is located in Gloucester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Achilles
- Sandy Bottom ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Sandy Bottom is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Bottom
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Williams. See our List of 1890's Communities around Williams.
Newspapers Published in Williams ...
An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.
Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Williams.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Williams, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Williams.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Williams:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Mathews County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Accomack County
- Gloucester County
- Hampton City
- Isle of Wight County
- James City County
- King and Queen County
- King William County
- Lancaster County
- Middlesex County
- New Kent County
- Newport News City
- Northampton County
- Northumberland County
- Poquoson City
- Surry County
- Williamsburg City
- York County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Virginia
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com. |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Williams, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Williams) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |